Louisiana residents turn to faith to cope with BP oil spill

Catholics in Boothville, Louisiana, tell how their faith is helping them cope
with the effects of the BP oil spill.

Alastair Good in The Gulf of Mexico

5:46PM BST 26 Jul 2010

He has seen his entire community washed away after Hurricane Katrina and the two main industries that were leading the recovery shut down, but the Plaquemine Parish President does not think the BP oil spill is a sign that God is angry with Louisiana.

“Before I became Parish president this community didn't get along too well," Rev Nungesser said, "but with all the disasters we've had people now help each across the Parish.”

Inside St Patrick's church, the visiting Archbishop asks the congregation to keep faith in God and to accept that though he is always listening, he does not always provide the answers they are seeking.

It is an attitude that those leaving the service have whole-heartedly adopted.

Bobby Mine, whose family runs a shrimp fishing business, has seen their income wiped out twice in four years but she does not think it is a punishment from God.

For those more closely involved in the oil industry, human hand is to blame: "The response was too slow," said oil worker Nolan Encalade. "They should have had everything in place for a worst case scenario but they didn't.”

On the Gulf Coast they may not know whose fault the oil spill is - the head of BP, the President of the United States or the Governor of Louisiana - but they know one thing for sure, God didn't do it.